Bay Area reaches to the Gulf of Mexico

Published 9:22 am, Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Stephen Fox chases his son Jonah Fox, 20 months, during an outing to the beach in Galveston.

Stephen Fox chases his son Jonah Fox, 20 months, during an outing to the beach in Galveston.

Photo: Mayra Beltran, Staff

Bay Area reaches to the Gulf of Mexico

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Known largely as the Bay Area, the swath of land that stretches from Pasadena to Galveston on either side of the Interstate 45 corridor encompasses everything from the wetlands of Armand Bayou and the waterfront boardwalk of Kemah to the energy industrial complex of Texas City and space missions of NASA. At its hub is Clear Lake City, a large master-planned community that was built following the decision in 1961 to establish the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, as it became known.

Today, a major portion of Clear Lake City lies within the city of Houston, after it was annexed in 1977, despite the protests of residents, and is represented as Houston City Council District E. The cities of Pasadena and Taylor Lake Village also border Clear Lake City.

The area as a whole encompasses more than a dozen independent cities, including Pasadena, La Porte and League City, as well as unincorporated areas.

Tourism fuels the economies of Galveston Island, Kemah and other places around the bay, while aerospace and petrochemical industries continue to be important in the Bay Area. Texas City has emerged as a major petrochemical center.